Posted: February, 20, 2018 - 5:34pm

D117 Building Safety

In Community High School District 117, our mission is to “Ignite Passion and Discovery in Every Student.” We must also keep our students safe. Our hearts are always heavy in response to tragedies, however, our relentless resolve affords us an opportunity to focus on and improve our safety measures.

District 117 fosters close relationships with its first responders. We have forged relationships, participated in joint trainings, and remain in close communication with those that protect and support us. As recently as June 2017, District 117 participated in a multiple-agency exercise to practice emergency response and ensure a familiarity among organizations and individuals is prioritized. In addition, both Antioch and Lakes Community High Schools continue to conduct drills and refine procedures and protocols with regards to various emergency situations.

At its core, we fundamentally believe that students and genuine, open relationships with them are our best security measures. We strongly encourage students to SAY SOMETHING if they SEE SOMETHING. With that said, over the years, District 117 has invested in numerous security measures and technologies, some visible and others invisible and unannounced. Examples are:

After any drill, incident, or tragedy, we evaluate the effectiveness, adjust when necessary, and coordinate with our first responders. To that end, students, staff, and visitors to our schools will notice modifications to our procedures in the coming days and weeks. Those will include, but not be limited to:

-Limited and supervised access points into the buildings
-Visible staff IDs
-Monitoring and encouraging student ID possession
-Visible and identifiable lanyards for visitor passes - allowing for instant ID of who has and has not checked in through our system

Please know that these are in the interest of safety and in search of giving us the upper hand in the ability to execute our most fundamental responsibility: student safety.

We greatly appreciate the cooperation and understanding of our students and staff. At the same time, we appreciate the support, feedback, and partnership with our first responders and community agencies. Finally, we are thankful for our families and their collective collaboration in helping communicate, reinforce, and hearten the well-being of our children.

-For more information on engaging in conversations about school violence, here is a resource.
-For you and/or your student(s) to report a tip or concern, please leverage the Text-a-Tip program by texting LAKECO to 1-844-823-5323.
-Finally, please feel free to contact any District 117 Administrator or Student Service professional regarding any questions, concerns, alerts, or tips.

Student safety is a responsibility that is humbling and one that District 117 takes very seriously. With everyone’s eyes, ears, and support, we are able to best position ourselves to prevent tragedy and respond to any situation that may arise.